Limpopo Business 2017-18 edition

OVERVIEW Coal

OVERVIEW Coal Limpopo contributes 4% of coal mining in South Africa, according to the National Department of Mineral Resources, but it seems likely that within the next three decades, the province will be supplying about half of South Africa’s coal. Limpopo’s Waterberg coal field is estimated to contain about 75-billion tons of coal. Supplying coal to power-producer Eskom has for many years been part of the bread-and-butter income for coal mining operators. In 2015, Exxaro supplied Eskom with nearly 30% of the coal it needed to run its power stations, about 33-million tons of coal. Exxaro spent several billion rand expanding its Grootgeluk mine (which has 3 200 employees) in the expectation that it would supply coal to Eskom’s Medupi power station. However, construction of the giant power station has been severely delayed, with the result that Exxaro is now having to look to export its coal. The plan was for the mine to supply Medupi with 14.6-million tons of coal every year for 40 years. Exxaro is exploring new technologies at Lephalale, working on the possibilities of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG). The diversified resources company recently launched the New Exxaro Tomorrow (NXXT) programme, which is part of the company’s 2030 vision that has a strong focus on sustainability. Sibanye Gold has acquired a 51% stake in Waterberg Coal, further evidence that it intends looking after its own power supply, at least to some extent. Coal of Africa is active in Limpopo, with the Vele colliery (coking and thermal) in the far north of the province and the Greater Soutpansberg Project /MbeuYashu, which includes CoAL’s Makhado Project (coking and thermal coal). Diamonds Anglo American is investing R2-billion to expand production at its diamond mine near the town of Musina. Venetia Mine is by far ONLINE RESOURCES Chamber of Mines of South Africa: www.bullion.org.za Geological Society of South Africa: www.gssa.org.za Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA): www.mqa.org.za National Department of Mineral Resources: www.dme.gov.za South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: www.saimm.co.za the most important part of De Beers’ South African operation, accounting for 3.1-million of the 5.4-million carats recovered by the company from its six operations. Good progress is being made to convert the mine from an open-pit mine to an underground operation, a project that will extend the life of the mine to the middle of the 2040s. The project will employ more than 2 000 people at its peak period. The first diamonds to come from the new mine are expected in 2021 with the underground mine becoming the only source of diamonds in 2023. The Venetia mine is also the site of some ground-breaking research that the De Beers group is putting in to finding ways to store carbon by mineralising kimberlite tailings. It is thought that kimberlite has the potential to be carbonised and thus able to store carbon. The goal is carbonneutral mining. LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2017/18 48

INTERVIEW Localisation brings business opportunities Benford Mokoatle, Venetia Mine General Manager, details how new policies are creating jobs in the Musina area. Benford Mokoatle Will the underground mine project affect production levels? When you go underground you reduce waste but the ore mined will remain constant, if not marginally improve. The carats will marginally improve from the current production profile. What plans do you have to transition your workforce to the underground environment? The skills required for the underground operation will be completely different from the current skill levels and requirements. We can accommodate those who have an aspiration of going underground by retraining them. BIOGRAPHY Benford Mokoatle has 21 years of mining experience. He began his professional career in the Wits Basin and spent time in West Wits (Western Deep Levels and East Mine), the Free State (Tshepong Mine) and Vaal Reefs before joining De Beers. He has worked at Kimberley Mines, Oaks Mine, Voorspoed Mine and Venetia Mine. At Venetia Mine, Benford is responsible for leading and directing Venetia Mine and its leadership team. Does the investment in Venetia underground mine signify investor confidence? I have no doubt about that. This is a project of a minimum of US-billion. This shows that the investors have confidence first and foremost in the country, and secondly in the project itself. It also says that there is still a market in diamond sales. Does the mine impact on socio-economic development? In our region, for every employee that is employed there’s indirectly 10 people that benefit. We are on a drive to localise businesses and suppliers that we do business with. We will continue to create partnerships and invest in the local economy. Are local companies benefitting? When we started with the BEE drive we needed to be doing business with empowered or black-owned suppliers. Now that we are at 88% or 90% BEE credentials, we need to localise and do business with entities that originate from our labour-sending area. So far we have rolled out about 35 local business opportunities, 50 to 60% of those are sourced from our labour-sending areas such as Musina and Blouberg. 49 LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2017/18